On Tuesday, Sept. 26, Special Prosecutor David Rands filed a motion in Massac County Circuit Court to dismiss a first degree murder charge against John Pruett, of Metropolis.

Pruett had been accused of causing the death of his 15-month-old son, Jackson Pruett, in April 2010. A trial had been set for Oct. 29 through Nov. 5, and a pre-trial was set in Massac Circuit Court on Sept. 26. Because of Rand's motion, the future court proceedings have been cancelled.

According to Rands, a lack of sufficient medical evidence initiated the dismissal of all charges against Pruett.

"We had this case looked at by two different medical experts. One conducted an autopsy on the child and both experts determined the time at which the child was injured was not the time he was in John Pruett's sole custody," said Rands, adding, "Because of that, we didn't think we could prove beyond a reasonable doubt and that raised doubt about the defendant's guilt."

According to Rands, the medical experts who investigated the case were the chief medical examiner for St. Louis, who performed the autopsy on Jackson Pruett, and an authority in child death cases.

Rands went on to add although charges against Pruett have been officially dropped, authorities will continue an investigation in the case.

"There is no statue of limitations on murder," said Rands, who did not comment further on who may be charged or what type of charges could be filed.

According to Rands, he is disappointed with the outcome of the case. "This is a bad situation for everybody involved," he said. Attorney John Schneider represented Pruett.